Miss Bridget Talbot (1885-1971) as a young women, the last owner of Kiplin Hall, credited with saving it for the nation

In honour of this year’s International Women’s Day, we’re putting the spotlight on Bridget Talbot, the last owner of Kiplin.

Bridget Elizabeth Talbot was born 15th January 1885 to her parents Alfred and Emily. The second oldest, she had an older brother Humphrey, and two younger siblings – Geoffrey and Kathleen. Bridget grew up in Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire but visited Kiplin throughout her childhood to spend time with her family. Bridget would go on to later inherit the remaining Kiplin estate from her cousin Sarah Carpenter (she had already bought the Hall from her in 1937).

Bridget was born into a wealthy, aristocratic family and was even presented to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra when she was eighteen years old!

One of the most interesting points of Bridget’s life was her war efforts. Upon the outbreak of World War One, Bridget began her nurse training with the Red Cross. She would go on to join the Belgian Refugee Committee who ran depots at Alexandra Palace and Earl’s Court. After this Bridget joined the Pro-Italia group on the Austrian-Italian front. Bridget had previously visited Italy when she travelled around Europe and spoke Italian. It was during her time on the front that she was nicknamed “General Talbot”.

It seemed that Bridget was always wanting to do more for the war effort and be more involved. She was recruited to be part of a mobile radiography team – a car would be used to travel around areas close to the fighting and the x-ray images would be taken back to the Villa Trento Hospital and developed. For her efforts, Bridget was awarded both the Italian medal for valour, the Croce di Guerra, and an OBE.

In 1914, Bridget also set up the Little Gaddesden Co-operative Allotment Scheme with her sister Kathleen to improve regular food production amongst the village.

Bridget also supported many charities such as the Red Cross, Scouts and Blind Veterans UK. Also campaigned against the Beeching Axe – the closure of railway lines and stations as well as loss of jobs.

Another notable moment in Bridget’s life is when she created a life jacket light for sailors. Bridget had a passion for the welfare and safety of seamen. She invested money, time and effort into creating a water-tight torch that would help sailors in need of rescue in the dark. The light could be seen from nearly half a mile away and would give off light for 48 hours. Whilst her invention was being deliberated for technical reasons, Bridget telephoned King George VI to see if he could to anything to help. The King was apparently very interested!

Visit Kiplin to learn more about this inspiring woman! You can find a book about Bridget’s life in the gift shop, called The Heart Kiplin.

(By Eliza Willis, Student Placement March 2025)